Northview Chiefs Baseball Coach Lister No Longer With The Team

October 15, 2015

Northview High School head baseball coach Martin “Marty” Lister is no longer in charge of the school’s baseball program.

“He has been removed as baseball coach,” Northview Principal Gayle Weaver said Wednesday. She declined to provide any specific reasons for the decision. Lister remains a member of the Northview faculty teaching drafting and construction technology.

Last season, Lister led the Chiefs to their first appearance in the 1A state final fourĀ  in school history. They lost to Blountstown 7-4 in the Class 1A state semifinal game at Jet Blue Park in Fort Myers.

Lister joined the Chiefs as head baseball coach in October 2012.

He was drafted in the seventh round by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1992 MLB June Amateur Draft from Jefferson Davis Community College in Brewton. He has pitched for the Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros and Arizona Diamondbacks organizations.

Lister taught at Escambia High School in Pensacola for five years before coming to Northview to teach drafting and construction technology. He coached varsity baseball for four years at Escambia, along with freshmen football, running back coach for varsity football and boys weightlifting. He also was an assistant baseball and pitching coach at Pensacola State College.

Comments

13 Responses to “Northview Chiefs Baseball Coach Lister No Longer With The Team”

  1. Chiefs player on October 19th, 2015 11:31 am

    has anyone ever thought about us players and what this has done to us I hope someone’s happy after all this coach Lister was a great coach and he will be missed

  2. Chief on October 18th, 2015 10:28 am

    Marty, my advice, Don’t waste words on people who deserve nothing but your silence. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can say is nothing. Bigger and better things await, i promise you that. Hopefully its out of that town and out of “Political Pensacola” because that is all you will deal with there in that city. The chiefs will miss you, know that.

  3. Ronnie Hardy on October 16th, 2015 8:27 pm

    I coach Marty years ago , always a hard worker & very dedicated , love by his team mates

  4. Just Saying on October 16th, 2015 2:30 pm

    It is a sad day for Northview baseball. Marty Lister took a group of students and made ball players and leaders. Let’s see what happens next season!

  5. joe tindall on October 16th, 2015 9:36 am

    Northview’s loss will be another schools gain. Marty is a great baseball coach and super individual. His passion and knowledge for the game of baseball is hard to beat.

  6. John R. on October 16th, 2015 9:06 am

    My hats off to Chad Smith! Very well written and honest account of what a Coach should be to his team. Chad’s synopsis should be enough to re-instate Coach Lister. I have 2 sons that were involved in sports from 5 years old through college and have experienced all types of coaches. From Chad’s account, Coach Lister is the type of coach my sons needed to get through college and excel at competitive sports. I cannot assume what itis this man did to desrve this, but from what Chad and Tommy say about him, I have a lot of respect for him.

  7. class 2010 on October 16th, 2015 2:38 am

    Sad to hear this… from what i was told he was what the baseball program needed really bad… wish he been there when we was playing… its gonna be hard to find . a coach that has that kinda love for the game… you have to be hard on kids now…

  8. Chad Smith on October 15th, 2015 11:43 pm

    Coach Lister brought a compassion for the game of baseball to Northview that had long been lacking. He was a very dedicated coach and he coached to win. He and Tommy Braddock coached my senior year (2012, his first year) and we were a very competitive ball club. He established a swagger about Northview baseball that will be hard to replace. He firmly believes in dressing for success and molding young men into leaders. Sure he showed tough love and wasn’t always happy following a practice or game. But his compassion was very contagious and it spread to most of our team. I greatly enjoyed my senior year of baseball and the leadership he provided. It’s a shame the foundation he has laid will be glorified by someone else. This generation has a hard time handling the tough love attitude he brought and building from his constructive criticism. It would be disheartening to know his removal was politically related, yet I’m not here to speculate. I just want to thank Marty and Tommy for a very memorable moment of my life. It’s a shame that he won’t be able to instill his competitive nature into the up comers. I know he will be a great asset wherever he goes. I hope he can find a school that encourages his competitiveness and doesn’t get offended by his “earn your keep” attitude. My theory is: if you want to be an asset to a ball club, make yourself become an asset. If you have to ask to be an asset, you aren’t doing your job. Good Luck Marty, as a former chief I thank you and wish you the best of luck.

  9. A student on October 15th, 2015 9:24 pm

    I await to see what happens to our baseball program now. They were going places.

  10. Chiefs Baseball Mom on October 15th, 2015 3:15 pm

    I hate to hear this. Coach Lister brought “life” back to our baseball program. I believe his instruction was the “icing” on top of Northview’s talent that helped us win our District and Regional titles.

  11. Old Coach on October 15th, 2015 1:35 pm

    Who will be the replacement? I don’t know the circumstances but Marty is as knowledgeable a baseball coach anywhere around here. Again not in the loop as to what happened with Marty, but it seems to me that Northview sports (all) are regressing each year. I have some thoughts on this, but not for public airing. All have a good rest of the day and week.

  12. Tommy Braddock on October 15th, 2015 12:43 pm

    I coached with Marty his first year at Northview. I had just gone through a divorce and really was having a hard time coping. Marty took me in! After every practice he made sure to ask me how I was doing. Marty is a selfless person but he is a fierce competitor. People have to understand that’s the way we were taught, and we were taught by some of the greatest icons from this area. Floyd Adams, Keith Griffin,and Fred Waters just to name a few. Players of our era like to win but I know things have changed since then. Marty I want you to know that I’m very proud of your accomplishments at Northview. Marty you are and always will be my brother in Christ!

  13. Blue Guy on October 15th, 2015 11:30 am

    Marty will be sorely missed. He always conducted himself in a professional sportsmanlike manner on the diamond.